Kota Kinabalu National Park! | Norwegian Spirit

It's day 9 on the Norwegian Spirit and today we are docking in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia! It's my first time visiting Malaysia and I have a shore excursion booked through NCL to the majestic Kinabalu National Park, a several hour bus ride from the ship. We drive way up the mountain through winding roads with incredible lush green rolling hills and mountains out of both sides of the bus. Part of this excursion was a hike, which I was hoping we'd get to do on our own time, but we instead followed our guide through a trail in the park up to the Kinabalu Orchid Garden, a beautiful place full of colorful and interesting plants, including one of the world's smallest orchids!
Thanks so much for watching, leave a comment and let me know what you think about this excursion!
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[@TravelWithBen121]

Looks like a beautiful hike! It’s too bad it wasn’t what you expected but it still looked amazing! The view from the top was great, it is surprising how green and mountainous Malaysia is, it definitely surprised me! Another great video, Mer! Bring on New Year’s Eve! 🎉😁

[@MerCruisesSolo]

Thanks, Ben! It was definitely beautiful scenery, but sooo much time on a bus 😬 Malaysia is beautiful, I am looking forward to your post-cruise vlogs there 😄 Brunei & NYE is going to be so fun to relive!!

[@chrisdarazsi6325]

Loving your vids. Great content, pacing scenery, commentary, everything. You have a good eye for the camera work and a knack for being honest with yoir opinions without being harsh. My partner and really enjoy your work. Im glad I came across your channel a couple months ago. Keep up the great work. 🙂

[@MerCruisesSolo]

Wow, thank you so much, Chris! This means so much to me, I am so glad you enjoy my videos! I really appreciate the support and kind words! 😊💙

[@chrisdarazsi6325]

@MerCruisesSolo and I forgot to mention... your walk on that muddy path with your white shoes? Both of us where like, nooooo... not the shoes! And then 2 seconds later you commented on the same thing. Hopefully they survived ok!

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@ haha they survived! I was able to clean them no problem 😄

[@maryannetolbart9608]

My mom always said if you didn't get dirty while you were playing outside... you weren't having fun! Guess you had some fun😊

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@maryannetolbart9608 sooooo true 😂 a little dirt never hurt anybody! 😊

[@HappyGolfCart-uz3ft]

Amazingly beautiful vibes thank you for sharing...🎉😅

[@dr.ikeavina3761]

Continuing to love your adventures on this cruise Meredith!

[@MerCruisesSolo]

Thank you so much! This was such an amazing cruise, I miss it 😊

[@David-Angela]

Hi Meredith 😊 First congrats to over 7,200 subscribers 🎉 Nice that you went on an excursion. Nice coach, and relaxing!! Nice weather too 🕶️ 🌤️ What amazing views from your coach. The Silau- Silau Trail looked fun, and pretty. Wow to the little orchid. We were thinking of you, walking through the water and mud!! ( great camera shots ) .. The views in the mountain area looked amazing. It was a long day for you, but as you said, you’ve done it! Thank you for a lovely review. We enjoyed it. Hope you had a nice meal on your ship..and you saw Ben 😜 See you next time, in Brunei. Take care David & Angela x

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@David-Angela thanks so much David & Angela!! Really appreciate your thoughtful comments 😊 a long day but very interesting and such beautiful scenery!

[@paulknowles8469]

Better missing the sunset than the ship! While in Thailand, I also learned why a 45 minute walk takes 2 hours - we weren’t the only visitors! Nice shot of Ben singing, just like he caught you singing in his video! Thanks for another great video!

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@paulknowles8469 so true, I had no fear about missing the ship this time fortunately! 😄

[@davidbalfe6190]

Will you and Ben do a cruise again together. It's great to see two outlooks from the same cruise. Love your videos

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@davidbalfe6190 thanks so much, David! I hope so! 😊

[@KikiB90]

Wow Meredith, another wonderful video. I must say you have an amazing talent to capture all the scenery, so one can enjoy it at home. You''re not moving too fast and you let it rest on an image a couple seconds longer, than others. I'm just in love with all your cruise videos and you have a way to make them interesting. I bet a lot of viewers get so much inspiration from your travel destinations and are motivated to get on a cruise as well. I know I am and I can't wait to book my next Solo Cruise. I'm thinking of one that goes around Japan (Maybe next year). Stay safe, wherever you are and looking forward to your New Year's Eve adventure. Christel from Florida

[@MerCruisesSolo]

Thank you so much, Christel! This is such a nice comment, your kind words mean so much to me! 🥹 Japan sounds incredible, on my bucket list for sure. I hope you have an amazing time wherever your next cruise takes you! 😊💕

[@NicolaNugent-jf3cw]

Thanks Meredith, another great visit to this island. Look like an interesting walk. Looking forward to your next video (new year) have a great day wherever you are in the world ❤

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@NicolaNugent-jf3cw thank you so much, Nicola! NYE was amazing!

[@LindaBulman]

Nine days ago I was on an excursion to see the Howler monkeys in Belize. My experience walking through the jungle was very similar to yours--not as drawn out, but difficult to hear the guide and a lot of stopping on a narrow path with a large group. Like you, I thought it was a wonderful experience, but I would not choose to do it again. My favorite excursions are those that involve local life and how people live. Another great video.

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@LindaBulman thank you, Linda! I completely agree. Definitely not what I expected but I still enjoyed it and it was an experience! 😊

[@Chris_Carini]

Great vlog. My sort of excursion (as well as being on time). 😊

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@Chris_Carini thank you! I agree, I do like structure and sticking to a schedule 😂

[@dxdodge32]

NCL is notoriously late with everything… great ship, good times, but don’t expect a schedule… I take those as relaxcations, definitely don’t depend on them for destinations… rocking the breakaway solo as we speak… great video!!!

[@MerCruisesSolo]

Thank you! Have an amazing time on the Breakaway! 😄

[@reginaobrien8983]

Love the video. Another adventure!

[@MerCruisesSolo]

Thank you! It was 😊

[@johnbuckley8324]

Great video Meredith. Sounds like like the luck of the draw led to some unfortunate parts of the day. 😒 There was some beauty in the areas you were able to see. Thank you for the honest review. 🙂

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@johnbuckley8324 thanks, John! I agree, it was so beautiful up there in the mountains 😊

[@mobileuser3596]

Great vlogs Mer!!! we are heading there next month! Yep NCL totally disorganized with their tenders and excursions! we went through that last October Ncl jewel West Coast cruise and Ncl Sun South Pacific cruise 😒look forward to ur next vlogs 😍

[@MerCruisesSolo]

Thank you so much! Yes, I think NCL needs to work on their Shorex and communication, but I still love them 😊 South Pacific sounds incredible, definitely one that’s on my bucket list!

[@deang1004]

Watching the two parallel series you and Ben are doing reminds me of Kurosawa's camera technique. He would mount two camera with differing perspectives and shoot both cameras in one take. Just as you two are reporting the same cruise from two different perspectives! I love it. This is why you two are two of my favorite creators on You Tube and I am part of an almost 70 year old couple! But solo cruise KZbin is so much fun! And I agree that NCL's communications are really a huge disconnect from the great service the rest of the cruise delivers. From the internet, to the corporate communications, to handling changes on board or even pre cruise, this is not NCL's good side. But my experiences, which were similar if not as bad, are not enough to get me to not want to sail NCL. It just tempers my expectations. If their captains and crews delivered the corporate experience of their corporate communications or IT, you would leave on embarkation day not knowing where the ship was going. And on the third day they would announce the ship ran aground on day 3. And who knows where you end up. But I still love the good parts more than enough to put up with it. Finally, we are on a New Year's Eve cruise in 2026/7.

[@MerCruisesSolo]

Thanks so much, Dean! I totally agree, it was great to be able to have different perspectives with Ben on the same ports. Lots of fun doing things together and also getting to see what the other did when we went on separate adventures! I'll definitely be making a post-cruise recap video about my thoughts overall on NCL and their communication/planning on this particular cruise. I agree that even with the challenges, getting to cruise and experience these incredible places is all worth it! 😊

[@shepgreenberg7659]

Meredith, great video as always! Have you ever considered doing a video about how you travel so much with a day job and how you pay for the trips?

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@shepgreenberg7659 thank you, Shep! I don’t know if there’s enough to fit in a whole video! I work full time in a corporate job with great benefits, and because of my tenure I have a little extra PTO than a lot of folks in the US. I also always try to plan travel around company holidays so that I don’t have to use as much vacation time and can spread it out further!

[@shepgreenberg7659]

@ My wife and I are retired and have always been once a year cruisers because of work demands and limited time off….I’m quite jealous (lol) of being able to take more than one cruise a year like you do…I’ll have to live vicariously through you!!

[@Catherine.B.]

Your videos are always so enjoyable to watch, Meredith💛

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@Catherine.B. thank you so much, Catherine! ☺️

[@SusanbVT555]

So glad you made it out of the Philippines safe and sound and on the ship! I had a close call on a Celebrity cruise way back in the day. My friend found a great last minute cruise deal, about $800 each with taxes etc, and we took a 7 day cruise from FL to Mexico and the Caribbean. Overall it was amazing, so much so that we almost missed the ship. Luckily we made it on the ship as there were late excursion arrivals that day. I completely understand the sheer panic involved. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Again, so glad you didn’t miss the ship.

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@SusanbVT555 I have heard lots of stories of people missing the ship in Cozumel, it’s a very fun port 😄 thanks so much!

[@SusanbVT555]

My takeaway is be careful with cruise excursions in the Philippines. It sounds like a new thing there and they’re working out the kinks.

[@Wendys_lovinglife]

Mer I recently found your channel and have been binge watching your wonderful videos. I just started cruising last year and will be doing my first solo cruise to Mexico on NCL Bliss in April and have another one booked on the new Celebrity Xcel in 2026. My question for you - and this is a hard one - if you could only pick one cruise of all the ones you have been on as your absolutely favorite one - which one would you pick and why? Thank you for your videos! They are perfect for doing research. I'm thinking maybe Norway will be the next one I book solo.

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@Wendys_lovinglife thank you so much, Wendy! It’s such a hard question to answer because I have favorite aspects of several cruises that make them equally as amazing, but I would definitely put Iceland & Norway on the NCL Prima up very very high on my favorites list! 😊

[@tinadesigns1]

❤

[@AmparotayagYamakawa]

I always watch ur videos loved it😍

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@AmparotayagYamakawa thank you so much, I appreciate you!! 🩷

[@AmparotayagYamakawa]

@@MerCruisesSolo 🥰

[@JecrisVivas]

I'm here in Sampaloc Tanay Rizal Philippines

[@TMarie-qe5pc]

Mer, your reviews are interesting and make me wonder what you do/did for a living. Maybe something in Quality? Or maybe Accounting?

[@MerCruisesSolo]

Wow, you are perceptive! 😄 Yes, my day job is in product management; specifically website performance and incident management! I love data and spend a lot of time analyzing what could be improved, apparently that translates to my experiences cruising as well 😆

[@TMarie-qe5pc]

@MerCruisesSolo I knew it! You speak my language:)

[@DaveLovesToTravel]

Hey Mer! A very picturesque excursion, but it seemed like you were experiencing time management issues like your previous excursion to the Cave...long lines, slow, and too much bus time. Was this excursion a third-party or Norwegian booked? Unfortunately, you can only make the best of it. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful ride and hike through the country side, though. Hopefully, your next excursions are more enjoyable and stress free! And as always, Happy Cruising!! ✌❤🚢

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@DaveLovesToTravel I agree, Dave, it is sometimes just the luck of the draw to get a well organized excursion with a great tour guide and have everything run smoothly and on time! Definitely a risk when booking a full day excursion, but there’s always something positive to come out of every experience 😊 happy cruising!

[@MrKn1214]

I thought you were going to Kuala Lumpur instead of this place , haha !! 😮

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@MrKn1214 this was our only port stop in Malaysia, sadly! Would love to see Kuala Lumpur!

[@MikeHoffman-b4p]

Need some hiking shoes…

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@MikeHoffman-b4p I have some but they didn’t make it in the suitcase for this trip 😂

[@U_KCuF]

Is Philippines the worst travel?

[@MerCruisesSolo]

@@U_KCuF definitely not! Philippines was amazing!